Large capacity storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives, compact discs (CDs), ZIP drives, etc.) are now commonly available. In addition, storage devices are continually being developed with even larger capacity, while at the same time, storage devices are becoming physically smaller, faster, and more reliable. However, these storage devices are also being used to store increasingly more data. For example, typical software applications may each consume several hundred megabytes on a user's computer. Also for example, video and music are increasingly available in digital format, with each file consuming significant storage capacity on the user's computer. As another example, more sophisticated Internet “web” pages with extensive graphics may be downloaded, at least temporarily, to the user's computer. In any event, a portion or all of this data may be stored on one or more of the storage devices on the user's computer for later use. However, as the volume of stored data increases, the performance of the storage device may decline. Eventually, the storage device may even reach capacity.
Various functions that allow the user to delete temporary and/or cache files from the storage device are available with some software applications and operating systems (e.g., Microsoft INTERNET EXPLORER® for Microsoft WINDOWS® 98®, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Wash.). However, the user is typically not given any options for managing the data. Instead, these functions typically only delete the files in a particular directory (e.g., /temp, /cache). In addition, the user may not select particular files to delete, and instead must delete all of the files in the directory. For example, the user may delete all of the files stored in the /temp directory. Often, the user is not even able to review these files before these files are deleted. Furthermore, these functions only remove limited data from the storage device. Therefore, even when the user makes regular use of these functions, the storage device may continue to fill to capacity.
One solution for ensuring available storage capacity is to purchase and install additional storage devices. For example, most computers are equipped to accommodate multiple hard disk drives, floppy diskette drives, CD drives, ZIP drives, etc. Or another solution may be to supplement attached storage devices with network storage. For example, the user may have access to an Internet storage device, the hard disk drive of a server or other workstations on the network, dedicated network storage (e.g., a network attached storage (NAS) device, a storage area network (SAN)), etc. However, there may be costs or fees associated with the use of this type of storage, and the capacity of network storage may also be limited. In addition, at least a portion of the data on the storage device is typically no longer needed, or at least it may not be needed on a programmed and periodic basis. Therefore, continuing to store this data, whether on an attached storage device or on storage devices available over a network, decreases performance of the storage device, and reduces the storage capacity available for others to use (e.g., on a network storage device).
Another solution is to manually review at least a portion of the data on the storage device using a directory manager, such as Microsoft WINDOWS® Explorer, or the like. Data that is no longer needed, or not needed on a programmed and periodic basis, may be deleted or archived (e.g., using tape backups, or the like) as the user sees fit. However, this is a time consuming process. As such, the user generally will only make random, cursory reviews of the data on the storage device, if any.